


Daze

by Horrible_Rocking_Chair



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Multi, zacharie walks in on batter having a Moment and things ensue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 06:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11686221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Horrible_Rocking_Chair/pseuds/Horrible_Rocking_Chair
Summary: I'll come up with a summary later.





	Daze

**Author's Note:**

> I'll come up with a summary later.

"What's troubling you, my friend?"

The Batter didn't respond to Zacharie's question, or even acknowledge that he was there at all.  Just kept sitting there on the edge of the curb with his hands in his lap and his face pointed at the ground.  He'd been sitting like that for over an hour.

Zacharie sighed and sat himself down next to him.  The Batter's eyes were closed (as was normal for him) and his posture was defeated.  Zacharie puzzled at his state.  Normally, when the puppeteer left, the Batter stood next to their last save block, almost as if in some kind of trance, until they returned.  What had drawn him away from it?

The Batter wouldn't tell him.  Zacharie knew the Batter wouldn't tell him.  One could learn more about the Batter's feelings from talking to a wall than to the Batter himself.  He didn't ask him again what was wrong, but Zacharie didn't get up and leave, either.

Zacharie never considered himself much of an empathetic man, but something was telling him that it wouldn't be _right_ to leave the Batter alone like that.  He was clearly unhappy, and whatever was bothering him was bad enough to force him to step back from even his sacred quest.  He was probably going to perk up and rush back to the save block as soon as his puppeteer returned, but Zacharie wanted to see him looking better _before_ that happened, preferably.

Carefully, Zacharie scooted closer to the Batter and placed a hand on his back.  No response.  Zacharie shifted and slowly smoothed his hand down the Batter's back.  The Batter's shoulders tensed and his eyebrows furrowed as Zacharie started to stroke him, but he didn't protest.  
Zacharie knew that the Batter couldn't damage anyone without his puppeteer, anyway.  And besides, the Batter could always tell him to stop or walk away if he wanted to.

The Batter didn't reject the attention.  "There, there..." Zacharie whispered, and the Batter's shoulders relaxed.  Zacharie kept rubbing his back.  The Batter felt cold to touch, even through his clothes, and his expression remained uneasy.

Zacharie adjusted the line he was tracing his hand over, and the Batter leaned into him.  Zacharie was surprised, but didn't stop.

They stayed like that for a while.  The Batter's side pressed against Zacharie, and Zacharie's hand pressed against the Batter.  Zacharie couldn't recall ever having been so close to him before, and the sensation was truly bizarre.  He could see that the Batter's face was still drawn anxiously, and every couple of minutes his mouth would move as if he were about to say something, but he never made a sound.

To be perfectly honest, he looked miserable; not at all helped by the fact that Zacharie had never seen the Batter bearing any visible emotion for so long.  There was obviously a big problem, but Zacharie still didn't know what was bothering him.

"There, there," Zacharie offered again.  Suddenly, the Batter's hands clenched into fists and his breath hitched in his throat.  Zacharie felt him shiver, and the Batter exhaled raggedly, shaking.

Shoot, was he trying not to cry?  Zacharie really, _really_ didn't want to have to see him cry.  Frantic, Zacharie reached his free hand around and cupped the Batter's face, lifting it up a bit.  He shushed him quietly, trying to calm him down.  Zacharie's fingertips traced his jawline, softly ghosting over his cheeks.  He didn't feel any tears.

The Batter went still.  His hands unclenched and the tension in his expression left completely.  The Batter sighed and tilted his head back, facing upwards.  Zacharie sensed his body relax, even not feeling as cold as it had before.  That was more like it.  He kept one hand against the Batter's cheek, and the other hand rubbing soothing circles into his back.  But Zacharie almost stopped out of shock when he saw the corners of his mouth gently turn upwards into a _smile._

"My Queen..." the Batter whispered, and his smile was more human than Zacharie could ever have imagined him capable of.  It wasn't at all like the demented grin he'd worn when he'd beaten the life out of Dedan, but one born of genuine good feeling, soft and sweet and happy.  The Batter opened his eyes.

The Batter looked up at the sky above them, and Zacharie froze as he saw the light and joy drain from his face.  The Batter was at once cold and hard as steel again, gazing right through the clouds and into the nothingness.

He turned that gaze to the man beside him, and Zacharie jerked away.  Zacharie had often mused and teased about the Batter needing to 'look him in the eyes when speaking to him' before, and immediately regretted every single instance of doing so.  He never wanted the Batter to look at him like that ever, _ever_ again.   _Never._  Seeing what his eyes looked like when open was _not_ worth having to meet the look that was on his face.

The Batter stood up and took a step back, still staring Zacharie down.  Neither of them said anything, watching each other in silence as the Batter's eyes pinned Zacharie where he sat.  For once in his life, Zacharie didn't know what to do.  He'd just wanted to be friendly, he'd hated seeing the Batter looking so damn  _sad,_ and had tried to help-- but now things appeared even _worse._

A tense minute later, the Batter finally relented and looked down at the ground.  Zacharie held back a sigh of relief.  The Batter shifted his weight between his feet, seeming to think about something.  He quietly stood there, his line of sight tracing the edge of the street, deep in thought.

Zacharie didn't know how long the Batter stood there for, just thinking.  He didn't once ask what the Batter was thinking about, either.  But after some time, the Batter looked to Zacharie again, with a much more tolerable expression.

"Thanks," was all he said.  The Batter's eyes slid closed again, and with that, he turned and ran back towards his last save block.

...

_'Thanks.'_

...

.....

What _exactly_ was he thanking him for?

Zacharie lurched to his feet and watched the Batter go.  Every bone in his body was telling him that he was better off not thinking about it.


End file.
